Logos of La Liga (R) and the Royal Spanish Football Federation. /CFP
La Liga fired at the relaunching plan of the "European Super League," saying it "will destroy the national leagues" on Friday.
The idea of establishing a breakaway Super League was first raised by 12 top football clubs in April 2021. But it soon aborted in 48 hours after all of the Premier League teams pulled out in response to public criticism.
Only Barcelona and Real Madrid of La Liga as well as Juventus of Serie A have still been holding on to the idea. Bernd Reichart, the new CEO of A22 Sports Management, the company promoting the revamped plan, said Super League "is very much alive" last month.
A banner that opposes the European Super League on display during the UEFA Champions League game between AC Milan and Liverpool at Stadio San Siro in Milan, Italy, December 7, 2021. /CFP
"It's very much alive. There are some who want to declare that it is dead, but if they say it a lot, there is much to suspect," according to Reichart. "There are clubs in Europe that surely share the vision of Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona, and now they have the opportunity to share what they think. There is a broad consensus that football needs reform. Football cannot continue as it is designed now."
"Until there is certainty from the European Court, it's unreasonable to think that it could be played before the 2024-25 campaign. It's a long journey, but we have the humility to do it step by step without pause," he added.
La Liga expressed its opposition to relaunching the Super League on Twitter on Friday. "The promoters of the Super League are now preparing a model similar to the one put forward in 2019, which is still closed or mostly closed, which will destroy the national leagues and which has already been rejected by clubs and leagues in Europe," it read.
Aleksander Ceferin, president of the European football governing body UEFA. /CFP
"The promoters of the Super League are trying to conceal its format, claiming that they still don't have a fixed model, although it will be inclusive and open," the Spanish top league added in the video accompanying the tweet. "We know that this is false and that they want to present a semi-closed format similar to that of 2019, which has already been rejected by the clubs and [the] European Leagues [group]."
Aleksander Ceferin, president of the European football governing body UEFA, is on La Liga's side. "We are here to talk about soccer, and [the Super league] is not soccer," he said when asked about Reichart's remarks by reporters last month.
Reichart told Marca that he will meet UEFA next week will to discuss the matter.